Legendary Pompey surf-punks Emptifish to bid farewell with one final gig at The Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea

For a band prone to more than a bit of myth-making over their history it’s as good a reason as any for Emptifish to announce that their forthcoming gig at The Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea will be their last.

The more prosaic truth is that Ian, also known as Lord Sonic and as owner of Parmiter’s Antiques in Albert Road is struggling with his health – he has been battling with Parkinson’s for the past decade and will be unable to play at the gig.​

The band have decided that if they can’t play without Ian in the future, then they will be retiring the Emptifish name.

However the surf-punks have beaten the odds in making it this far.

During their first run from 1983-87, the sharp-dressed Pompey four-piece were tipped for the top. But trouble followed them around with repeated riots at their shows and they soon found themselves banned from numerous venues. Unable to play live, they split. They played a handful of reunion shows in the late noughties, but the death of original bassist Ricky Hayes in 2010 from cancer brought that to an end.

So when they reformed for a ‘one-off’ gig in 2016 to mark the release of 6.57: The Best of Emptifish – a compilation of their, by now, long out of press singles and rare session tracks few thought it would last this long.

But they have gone on to play numerous gigs and festivals, joined punk legends The Damned on tour and played with Theatre of Hate in London. And they even got around to finally releasing their ‘proper’ debut album, Sonic Love, in 2019.

"It's always best to do your greatest hits before your first album!” laughs frontman George Hart.

Regarding the difficult decision to call time on Emptifish, George says: “I said we may as well call it our last gig in case anything else happens. It's getting to the point where it's hard work doing anything and I'm worried that Ian's going to hurt himself and that's not fun.”

A highpoint of any Emptifish set is watching Ian clamber on top of a precarious tower to play a blistering solo.

“Ian's told me his plan is to look for the last antique in the world – he's said this to me so many times. It doesn't make any sense, but it does make sense when you know Ian! So, unfortunately he won't be there because he's looking for the last antique in the world…

NOW READ: Ian Parmiter tells how his artwork has helped him hold Parkinson’s at bay

“I don't think we'll carry on under the name Emptifish, but all of the other members want to carry on because we enjoy it so much. There maybe something else after this, but under a different name in the studio – let's see what happens from there. I've got loads of songs, and I'll sit down with Craig (Boyd, Emptifish guitarist) and we'll come up with stuff, but we've not got around to recording it. I could easily do an album's worth.

“It might be The Fish's Lost Tapes or The Manta Rays or something like that, but I'll concentrate on the studio side of it, and I think that will be good.”

The gig is promoted by The Management, aka Chris Abbott, who has been a supporter of the band since he ran Granny’s nightclub in the late lamented Tricorn Centre during the ’80s.

"He's always mentored us and been there since he had Granny's. He's always been a stalwart for us. He's got two great support bands. Kaeden from The Targets, he's a young punk-rocker and he has done a couple of Emptifish covers live –is dad told him about Emptifish because he would come to all of our gigs. And then the Alter-Moderns – we've played with them before and they're this nutty Brazilian duo, they’re brilliant.”

George is also glad that they’ll be playing The Wedge for the gig.

“I can't think of a better place to have the last one – The Wedge is like fish'n'chips isn't it? I can't imagine a world without it. When the Rock Gardens and The Pyramids went I wasn't really gutted, but it's unfathomable to think of The Wedge going.”

All in all, it’s not been a bad run for the band who, as George puts it: “We just sing about girls, and cars, and love, and surfboards...”

Emptifish are at The Wedge on Saturday, doors 7.30pm, supported by Kaedan Swin and Alter-Modern. Tickets £13. Go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.